As expected, there were virtually no new proposals announced by Gov. Mike DeWine in his State of the State speech, though he drew attention to several ideas and programs that are in the two-year budget he introduced last month.
“Ohio is strong!” DeWine began, with a line he hasn't used since his annual address in 2022.
“We have hit the highest number of jobs ever in our state’s history," DeWine said. "We have added more than 81,000 private sector jobs and have nearly 5.7 million Ohioans right now employed in our workforce.”
But DeWine said workforce is still the state’s most significant challenge. He singled out the lieutenant governor he appointed last month, former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, who he said will quarterback what he’s calling Ohio’s Workforce Playbook.
He waded into the discussion about conservatives’ concerns over what they’ve called “liberal indoctrination” on public college campuses, introducing the heads of the centers set up at five public colleges to promote constitutional research and American history. Senate Bill 1, which is strongly opposed by faculty and students that would ban diversity programs and faculty strikes, among other things, has passed the Senate and is being heard in the House.
DeWine also touted budget items, some of which haven’t gotten much enthusiasm from his fellow Republicans in the legislature – for instance, a $1,000 tax credit for kids under seven funded by a cigarette tax hike and a sports facility fund backed by doubling the sports betting tax.
He also talked a lot about kids – noting his budget calls for a program to provide vision exams and glasses to kids who need them, and a pilot program for children’s dental services in nine counties. And he brought up changing he wants to see in schools – bringing drivers’ ed programs back to high schools and urging a total ban on cell phone usage. Some schools banned phones after a law DeWine called for last year requiring districts to have policies on cell phone usage.
"The evidence is overwhelming. As I've said before as an old prosecutor, the jury came back – there’s a verdict," DeWine said to loud applause. "It's time to finish the job and ban cell phones in all Ohio schools so kids can learn.”
And DeWine did have a new proposal to put forward, saying there are things that kids may not be learning that they should be.
"They need to know how to make a budget, how to pay bills, what to do in an emergency. And they must understand the importance of fulfilling their civic duties, and that, of course, includes voting," DeWine said. "Further, they need to learn basic first aid, how to prepare a simple meal, understand nutrition, dietary needs and the importance of physical fitness."
He then said he was ordering Department of Education and Workforce Director Steve Dackin to review the state’s learning standards and model curriculum on practical life skills, and wants recommendations on how to focus on them.
In another new announcement, DeWine also said Tressel would be the lead on a coming statewide initiative on physical fitness in schools.
Speech gets both support and opposition, from both Republicans and Democrats
DeWine’s address got audible cheers from both sides of the aisle at several points. Still, some of DeWine’s biggest state budget priorities fell flat among members of his own party.
“I wouldn't say there's anything that I would deem a nonstarter," said Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon). But he cast doubt on the likelihood of passing a child tax credit in the budget. DeWine has proposed a refundable $1,000 per year and per child refundable credit, provided to parents who qualify through a child’s sixth birthday.
"Every tax credit we introduce or every tax deduction that we introduce makes it harder for us to get to our ultimate goal, that being eliminating the income tax or having a flat income tax in the state of Ohio," McColley said.
DeWine diverges there, too, from many in the GOP caucus. Although he hit on the tax briefly, noting Ohio's income tax rates "are the lowest they’ve been in over 50 years." DeWine did not include an income tax cut in this budget or in the three previous budgets he's submitted as governor, and has said he doesn’t see lowering it further as feasible.
DeWine brought few new proposals before lawmakers Wednesday, but of those that he did, McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman say they need more detail to weigh in.
Democrats had their own critiques of DeWine’s address. DeWine didn’t make any mention of property taxes, even though House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said constituents are constantly reaching out about skyrocketing valuations.
“We have bipartisan solutions to address property taxes in both chambers that we could enact today," Russo said. "It is a choice that they have not been enacted and Ohioans deserve better.”
Russo, as well as Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), also shot back at recent debate over SB 1. Russo said lawmakers should instead focus on the state’s increasing brain drain and rising tuition costs.
"What the Republicans have put forward and what we're debating right now in SB 1 does none of that. It addresses neither of those issues," Russo said.
House lawmakers are vetting and amending DeWine’s version of the budget right now, with amendments due Friday.
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